Quick And Easy Recipes

After the pool party we recently hosted, we had lots of leftover grilled vegetables. Pasta salads are a great way to make use of leftover veggies, so today I prepared some for the family. It was really easy; all I needed to do was boil some pasta and add some salad dressing to it.

This time around I made a spicy salad dressing that I drizzled over fusilli pasta, roasted bell peppers, grilled eggplant, grilled Portobello mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes. This meal met everyone's diet, except for my father-in-law who's allergic to mushrooms (no meat, not nuts, no eggs), so I placed the grilled mushrooms on the side.

Cucumber sandwiches are the most delicious, easiest finger foods to make. All you need is sliced white bread, butter and of course, cucumbers. To enhance the flavor, I also spread a thin layer of parsley and garlic chive cream cheese spread.

We hosted a pool party today for Lya (my 13-year-old sis-in-law) and her classmates. I think everyone had fun, splashing in the water, chatting and reuniting right before school starts. They all seemed very hungry after swimming and the little cucumber sandwiches and other finger foods went fast!

Do you want your child to be the most popular kid in the lunch room? Try this macaroni and cheese recipe. I flavored the béchamel sauce with roasted red bell pepper, garlic and sun-dried tomatoes and of course a variety of cheeses. The color turns out more vibrant and the texture is perfect with both gooey and stringy cheese mixed together.

I packed the mac and cheese in a bento-style thermos lunch jar so the dish would remain warm until lunch time. My little 6-year-old sis-in-law has been going to school for less than a week but she's already made a lot of friends. When she came home, I found an empty box. She told me her lunch box is a great conversation starter!

Tuna pasta salad is one of the easiest school lunches of all times. The pasta salad can be prepared a day in advance; I usually prep the ingredients the day before and assemble the salad the next morning. All you need is mayonnaise, tuna, boiled pasta (I used fusilli) and various grilled vegetables.

Back to school lunches have never been that easy! Fusilli pasta have a fun look and the corkscrew curl in the center traps the mayonnaise so you get a creamy pasta salad. This one dish makes a balanced meal for kids in your life.

My husband's youngest sister is starting 1st grade next Wednesday. We just met her new teacher and classmates during a lovely potluck picnic this week. Our first "homework" is to prepare a menu for her lunch box. She's very excited about what we will pack for her.

Our family friend Chú Quân had kindly just brought us humongous fist-sized figs from his garden. I immediately thought of a snack my little sis-in-law wouldn't be able to resist. This fig and cheese sandwich recipe is ultra simple. I pack separate containers of the ingredients (fresh figs, fig jam, camembert and pizelle anise cookies) and let her assemble the snack!